The World Bank (WB) plans to approve a $500 million loan for the first package of Vietnam’s public investment reform program at a meeting on December 21, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said on its website on Dec. 10. The loan is part of the $1-billion program which aims to help the Vietnamese government to enhance effectiveness of public investment to speed up WB-funded projects. The program includes two packages with the second worth $500 million also scheduled for disbursement in the third quarter of 2010. The loan will be in line with requirements of the WB group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has assigned SBV governor Nguyen Van Giau to sign an agreement for the loan with WB.
